There is space in this industry for each one of us: Justin

After making a promising debut in Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, Justin Prabhakaran has now become a composer to watch out for with his music for Oru Naal Koothu (ONK). The young composer, who is very particular about using live instruments in his works, is now busy with a handful of projects in Kollywood. He talks to What's Hot on his journey into film music, the songs of ONK and what having so many composers on the scene means to a music lover.Excerpts:
Tell us about yourself...
I'm from Madurai, and have been interested in music from a young age, even though no one in my family is a musician. I would say the music played at the church was an influence. Initially, I was more interested in playing music than composing music. After school, I wanted to join music college, but ended up taking zoology at the American College in Madurai. There, I formed a band and we performed our own composition for a cultural fest. We won at the event, and from then on, started composing our own music. Once I finished college, I worked in a studio run by Derek, a friend, for five months. But seeing my interest in music, he suggested that I should go to Chennai, learn music and try my luck in films. I applied for the Chennai film institute and got selected in my very first attempt.After studying in the sound department there, I decided to work as a keyboard player for music directors. It was then that I realised that one needs a studio set-up to survive. So, I started working as a sound engineer for Harris Jayaraj from 2009 to 2013.
How did you get your break in films?
While I was working as a sound engineer, I used to compose for short films that contested in Naalaya Iyakkunar. I worked on the shorts that were part of seasons two and three of the show. I have scored for about 70 short films, and have won the Best Music Director award during both the seasons. That is where I got acquainted with director Arunkumar. When he got the chance to direct Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, he roped me in as its composer. Following that, I have composed the music for Orange Mittai, the Malayalam film Kunjiramayanam, and now, Oru Naal Koothu.
Adiyae Azhage in ONK has become a chartbuster. Can you tell us what went into the making of this song?
Actually, the song was not composed for this film. He wanted the tune and the lyrics to be rural and the arrangements western. I played this to director Nelson, and he decided that this should be his song. I had my apprehensions as I did not create this for the particular sequence in the film, but he was so confident and told me that it will work.
What made you choose Sean Roldan, who is a composer himself, to sing this number?
I felt that for this particular tune, his voice would be perfect as it is quite flexible in terms of range. Since he is also a composer, he could instantly grasp what I wanted and we recorded it in just an hour.Since he knows Tamil, he added much feeling to the lyrics with his vocal expres sions.
You have retuned Gopalakrishna Bharati's Carnatic composition Eppo Varuvaro in this album. Did you have any apprehensions on how purists might react to this?
The director had this idea and asked me if I could record the song. But I suggested that I will retune it for the film. But, yes, I did have some doubts early on because it is a very popular piece and I did not want to spoil the beauty of the original in any way.Thankfully, the song has only fetched me positive reviews so far.
What are your upcoming projects?
My next release is Raja Mandhiri, and the audio is already out. It is a comedy that also has some emotional moments. I'm also composing for Ulkuthu starring Attakathi Dinesh and Kaala Koothu, which has Kalaiyarasan, Prasanna and Dhanshika in the lead roles. The former is an action film while the latter is an emotional drama.
Given that we have seen a number of young composers bursting on the scene in the last few years, do you find the field competitive today?
There is no place for competition or ego because there is space in this industry for each one of us. I'm good friends with my fellow composers like Sean and Nivas Prasanna and we regularly call up each other and discuss our work. For listeners, too, the fact that there are more composers in the field means they get to hear a variety of music and sounds.